They will build an underwater tunnel to connect Europe with Africa

Spain and Morocco will have it in the 2030 World Cup

In a move that promises to revolutionize transportation and trade between two continents, Spain and Morocco are advancing plans for the construction of an underwater tunnel that connects them, with an eye on its completion by the 2030 Soccer World Cupan event that also involves Portugal as co-host.

This project, valued at approximately USD 7,534 million, seeks to be one of the most ambitious transport links in the world, not only by uniting Europa with Africa but for its journey through an active geological fault.

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Strategic planning work is already underway, with the Moroccan National Strait Studies Company and SECEGSA (Spanish Society of Studies for Fixed Communication through the Strait of Gibraltar) leading the efforts to materialize an idea that was born almost a century.

This project, compared in magnitude to the Channel Tunnel between Dover and Calais, aims to connect Punta Paloma, near Tarifa in the south of Spain, with Malabata, in the vicinity of Tangier, in the north of Morocco. Covering an underwater distance of 28 kilometers, the tunnel will reach depths of up to 475 meters below sea level.

The importance of this project transcends physical borders, estimating an annual flow of 12.8 million passengers and 13 million tons of cargo, reinforcing not only tourism but also trade between the two continents.

«We are beginning a new stage in the revitalization of the fixed link project through the Strait of Gibraltar, which we launched in 1981», the developers highlighted. This transport would reduce travel times between the two main cities, Casablanca and Madrid, from about 12 hours by car and about two hours by plane, to just five and a half hours by train.

The project is not without challenges. The planned route for the tunnel crosses the Azores-Gibraltar geological fault, an area of ​​regular seismic activity that adds difficulty to the already ambitious project. Even so, the perceived benefits in terms of mobility and economy seem to tip the balance towards the effort and investment necessary for its realization.